What is the most important service/feature you look for in a hosting partner

[NocRoom]

Me being an ISP, i perfer good direct fiber connection. no point having a cheap hosting if your site takes forever to load

 

[And|newHOST.ro]

When looking for a hosting provider you need to take into consideration the following:

-uptime
-support
-cost
-resourses (what do you get for what you pay)
-back-up

If you find all the above, then you have to read their ToS.

 

[Gaiacom_LC]

I would say both service/support and features are key in my deciding.

 

[HostedInside]

The first and most important thing to look for is establishment of business, and not only "how long have they running" but how their system and company is established.

 

[Collabora]

I a large dowry and a nice figure :laugh:

 

[maplehosting]

Not many hosts own their own DC ( datacentre) so people wont expect a host to own a DC.

Yes hosts can own their own hardware and co locate in a DC or rent a Dedicated server or VPS and still offer 24/7 support. I have even know resellers that provide 24/7 support.

24/7 support does not mean 24/7 live support, you can have a very extensive Knowledge base and prover 12 hrs live support, so you still give 24/7 support as long as your clients are aware of your live support timings and where they can get support out of these hours.

I actually think that in this industry when people hear a company has 24x7 support, they expect it to be 24x7 live support (like a ticketing system that has people checking it and answering tickets 24x7).
A knowledge base can almost never be a replacement to support because no matter what you write in your knowledge base, if something doesn't work the way it should, in many cases only support can fix it.

 

[easyhostmedia]

I actually think that in this industry when people hear a company has 24x7 support, they expect it to be 24x7 live support

its like people going to a car boot sale and expect things for nothing or next to nothing. does not mean that's what they will get it for that.

i stated

24/7 support does not mean 24/7 live support

so people may expect 24/7 live support, but unless it actually says 24/7 live support then its only an assumption you will get 24/7 live support

 

[maplehosting]

its like people going to a car boot sale and expect things for nothing or next to nothing. does not mean that's what they will get it for that.

i stated



so people may expect 24/7 live support, but unless it actually says 24/7 live support then its only an assumption you will get 24/7 live support

I understand your point, however, I think that is quite a serious false advertisement.

You see, the assumption that 24x7 support means 24x7 live support is not a bad assumption to make. It actually makes sense and hosts who write 24x7 support but claim what you claim are in my eyes false advertisers.

Knowledge base is not considered support in any way.
It's like saying that it is okay for a hosting company to say 7 days money back guarantee but customers shouldn't assume it will be for any reason, only for reasons the hosting company find to match their guarantee. As you probably understand this is not okay and is a serious false advertisement of what you are offering your customers.

24x7 support is important to customers and mean 24x7 live support. If you do not offer 24x7 live support and for you support mean something else, you must write it down very clearly (that's at least what I think).

P.S - Your signature says "being" instead of "bring".

 

[easyhostmedia]

I understand your point, however, I think that is quite a serious false advertisement.

You see, the assumption that 24x7 support means 24x7 live support is not a bad assumption to make. It actually makes sense and hosts who write 24x7 support but claim what you claim are in my eyes false advertisers.

its not false advertising to say you offer 24/7 support and that it is not 24/7 live support

Knowledge base is not considered support in any way.

Yes it is , have you heard of self support. 9/10 support request can be answered by information within a good KB. this is still support and falls within offering 24/7 support

24x7 support is important to customers and mean 24x7 live support.

wrong 24/7 support just means you offer a support system available 24/7 ( emails/KB/Phone/ticket system etc.). 24/7 live support means you have a live person available 24/7 to answer support request

If you do not offer 24x7 live support and for you support mean something else, you must write it down very clearly (that's at least what I think).

As long as you dont say you offer 24/7 live support (when you dont) then you dont need to say anything else as stated earlier 24/7 support means you have a support system available 24/7.

As a 1 man band it is impossible to run 24/7 live support. My clients are aware of this and any prospective client is aware of this. if a ticket is opened outside of a fixed time then a reply is send stating that when the ticket will most likely be answered.
This does not mean than if i client contacts me minutes before i close up for the might i just leave them hanging. i will stay with them until the situation is sorted. i normally turn of my PC at midnight and on again at 8am, but if needed i will say with a client to sort an issue even if it means staying up until 4am or even longer.

P.S - Your signature says "being" instead of "bring".

thanks for pointing this out, fixed now

 

[maplehosting]

its not false advertising to say you offer 24/7 support and that it is not 24/7 live support

Yes it is , have you heard of self support. 9/10 support request can be answered by information within a good KB. this is still support and falls within offering 24/7 support


wrong 24/7 support just means you offer a support system available 24/7 ( emails/KB/Phone/ticket system etc.). 24/7 live support means you have a live person available 24/7 to answer support request

As long as you dont say you offer 24/7 live support (when you dont) then you dont need to say anything else as stated earlier 24/7 support means you have a support system available 24/7.

As a 1 man band it is impossible to run 24/7 live support. My clients are aware of this and any prospective client is aware of this. if a ticket is opened outside of a fixed time then a reply is send stating that when the ticket will most likely be answered.
This does not mean than if i client contacts me minutes before i close up for the might i just leave them hanging. i will stay with them until the situation is sorted. i normally turn of my PC at midnight and on again at 8am, but if needed i will say with a client to sort an issue even if it means staying up until 4am or even longer.

thanks for pointing this out, fixed now

When I think about false advertising, I think:
"Is what most people will understand from what I wrote different from what I am actually offering?"

I just visited your site (this is just an example, and it is your choice to do whatever you want, I'm just trying to make a point) and the first thing I saw was 24x7 support.

Most people will understand that they have a support team they can go to 24x7 and get help with. I did not see any support team hours being specified so me (and many others) are very likely to assume (and rightfully so) that the team is ready to help 24x7.

I hope you understand my point here.

 

[easyhostmedia]

When I think about false advertising, I think:
"Is what most people will understand from what I wrote different from what I am actually offering?"

I just visited your site (this is just an example, and it is your choice to do whatever you want, I'm just trying to make a point) and the first thing I saw was 24x7 support.

Most people will understand that they have a support team they can go to 24x7 and get help with. I did not see any support team hours being specified so me (and many others) are very likely to assume (and rightfully so) that the team is ready to help 24x7.

I hope you understand my point here.

Just because a person does not understand something is not false advertising as stating 24/7 support is not false advertising as long as you offer some sort of support 24/7, which a user can check your KB, send and email or submit a ticket 24/7 so their is a support system in place.
people can assume you have staff 24/7 but it is just and assumption as you have not listed 24/7 live support.
if a support ticket is opened outside of our normal hours then a reply will be sent as such

Thank you for contacting our Support Department.
Please be aware that our normal support times are 9:00AM - 12:00PM (GMT).
Therefore we will do our best to answer your support request within that time period.
There may be rare occasions where you will receive a reply out of the normal support hours, so keep an eye out for any response.

the way i list my 24/7 support has been checked by UK Trading Standards who are happy as a support system is in place 24/7

 

[maplehosting]

Just because a person does not understand something is not false advertising as stating 24/7 support is not false advertising as long as you offer some sort of support 24/7, which a user can check your KB, send and email or submit a ticket 24/7 so their is a support system in place.
people can assume you have staff 24/7 but it is just and assumption as you have not listed 24/7 live support.
if a support ticket is opened outside of our normal hours then a reply will be sent as such



the way i list my 24/7 support has been checked by UK Trading Standards who are happy as a support system is in place 24/7

It seems like we are going to have to agree to disagree.

 

[easyhostmedia]

It seems like we are going to have to agree to disagree.

well as i comply with the law i know i am not doing anything wrong.

I could create a mouseover with the info, but look at the result of doing this

https://niceday-hosting.co.uk/index2.html

 

[maplehosting]

well as i comply with the law i know i am not doing anything wrong.

I could create a mouseover with the info, but look at the result of doing this

https://niceday-hosting.co.uk/index2.html

I simply don't think you should write 24x7 support if you do not have 24x7 live support.

I mean, think about it, if 24x7 support is having some support system online 24x7 then I could write 24x7 support on my website and have someone look at the tickets once every two weeks and I would still be offering 24x7 support.

When people hear 24x7 support, knowledge base isn't what they think of.

 

[easyhostmedia]

I simply don't think you should write 24x7 support if you do not have 24x7 live support.

I mean, think about it, if 24x7 support is having some support system online 24x7 then I could write 24x7 support on my website and have someone look at the tickets once every two weeks and I would still be offering 24x7 support.

When people hear 24x7 support, knowledge base isn't what they think of.

they can still submit a support request 24/7, so their is a support network KB is still support so you are still providing 24/7 support. At least when i have live chat i will answer chats not like some. i.e i needed to contact Sky their live chat was showing as on and it stated

All of our Sky advisors are currently busy with other customers.

Live Chat is available 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week.

it remained in this status for 8 hours before i just closed down the page. so how can they say Live Chat is available 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week. when it is clearly not

 

[maplehosting]

they can still submit a support request 24/7, so their is a support network KB is still support so you are still providing 24/7 support. At least when i have live chat i will answer chats not like some. i.e i needed to contact Sky their live chat was showing as on and it stated



it remained in this status for 8 hours before i just closed down the page. so how can they say Live Chat is available 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week. when it is clearly not

They are false advertising as well, obviously.

Think about this though:
According to what you are saying, if I have a knowledge base and ticketing system active on my site 24x7, I can write 24x7 support and have my staff check the tickets customers submit once a month. According to your standards, this is fine. Right?

 

[easyhostmedia]

They are false advertising as well, obviously.

Think about this though:
According to what you are saying, if I have a knowledge base and ticketing system active on my site 24x7, I can write 24x7 support and have my staff check the tickets customers submit once a month. According to your standards, this is fine. Right?

No, because you are providing 24/7 support and live support when staff are available.

It like saying to provide 24/7 live support and have 1 member of staff that is in a chat with a client when a prospective client or one of your clients ask for support. How can they get live support when your staff member is offering live support to another client. in this scenario you are not providing live support to those clients

 

[maplehosting]

No, because you are providing 24/7 support and live support when staff are available.

It like saying to provide 24/7 live support and have 1 member of staff that is in a chat with a client when a prospective client or one of your clients ask for support. How can they get live support when your staff member is offering live support to another client. in this scenario you are not providing live support to those clients

But you said:

24/7 support just means you offer a support system available 24/7 ( emails/KB/Phone/ticket system etc.). 24/7 live support means you have a live person available 24/7 to answer support request

Well, in my example, the hosting company promised "24/7 support" and not "24/7 live support". And the hosting company is indeed offering the support system that is available 24/7. The live support however, works once a month for a few hours.

According to how you defined it, this is just fine. Isn't it?

 

[easyhostmedia]

But you said:

Well, in my example, the hosting company promised "24/7 support" and not "24/7 live support". And the hosting company is indeed offering the support system that is available 24/7. The live support however, works once a month for a few hours.

According to how you defined it, this is just fine. Isn't it?

notice i placed etc. at the end of my list as their is many ways support can be provided with being live.

24/7 live support would mean you only provide live support and no emails/telephone/tickets will be accepted and you dont provide a KB.

24/7 support means you can provide support by email, KB, phone, tickets, Live chat ETC.

 

[maplehosting]

notice i placed etc. at the end of my list as their is many ways support can be provided with being live.

24/7 live support would mean you only provide live support and no emails/telephone/tickets will be accepted and you dont provide a KB.

24/7 support means you can provide support by email, KB, phone, tickets, Live chat ETC.

Now I have no idea what you're talking about and how that is an answer to my question.

Anyways, as I said:

It seems like we are going to have to agree to disagree.